Promises
by Butterfly853
Summary: Towards the end of Series 7 Episode 10, Chris explained to Scout that she and Liam were going to a better home and with a better family…but where could they be possibly going? And will it all work out as well as he promises?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note – this is something I haven't noticed a lot of and it was something I wanted to try.  
So towards the end of episode 10 during series 7, Chris explained to Scout that she and Liam were going to a better home and with a better family…but where could they be possibly going? And will it all work out as well as he promises?_

_Jo x_

****__

Chris didn't realise how much time had passed since he handed in his notice and before he knew it he was into his last week. He hadn't even got onto the difficult situation of vacating his classroom but then again it was something he could always stay late to do – and he had a heck of marking to go through.  
It was going to be sad he had to admit when he got round to it, but things were going to work out better within a few days.

When everyone had pretty much left the building he then took that opportunity to clear everything out. He tore himself away from behind the desk and got a few boxes together to set about packing when there was someone knocking on his door.  
The only person he knew it could be was Tom as the two of them had planned to go out for a drink and a chat at their local after he was finished. It was only when he turned to look and see that Scout was standing there instead, with her little brother holding onto her.

He answered the door and let her in. "Why haven't you left?"

"Foster parents haven't shown up," she dolefully replied as she sat down on one of the stools.

"And there was me thinking you've come to give me a hand," he assumed as he went back to clear up.

"I can if you want me to," she offered. "It's the least I could do after what you did for me and Liam."

Chris handed her a box for her to fill up. "I can't give a reason as to why your foster parents haven't shown up to collect you," he admitted, "but if they still don't turn up by the time we've finished I can take you to their home."

Her eyes lit up. "You would do that?"

"Look," he stopped what he was doing and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I meant what I said about sticking with you through all of this. This is a promise I wanted to keep."

She nodded, smiling more positively. "So I guess I've wrecked things for you since you're leaving here."

"No." He gave her a small comforting squeeze. "I had plans to leave anyway and I already had things lined up on the cards."

****

Once they were done with packing she helped him load the car before going back to the empty room.

"As long as my problems aren't the real reason you're leaving," she wanted to make clear to him.

"No, not at all." He looked to her intently. "Your situation didn't exactly help…but it made me realise that working here has never been what I was cut out for."

"Looks like they never showed up," Scout noted sadly before looking to Liam who also seemed rather forlorn.

"Don't worry," Chris stated encouragingly. "I said I would take you to theirs if they didn't show up, remember? So let's go."

She frowned at how positive he seemed and sounded. It was unusual for someone to behave that way after leaving a job they'd been in for a few years but then again, maybe he _did_ want to leave that much. After all it was never her place to make that assumption. She took hold of Liam and they left the room before he locked it and handed in the keys. 

She felt full of nerves throughout the drive, completely unaware of where he was taking them. She wanted her new family to be nice. She wanted them to be just as nice and compassionate as _he_ had been with them – but she was very sure that would not happen and if it did it was all some far-fetched dream.

"We're here now." His voice came from amidst her thoughts and she sharply peered to him to find his big, bright blue eyes fixed on hers. There was something incredibly sharp and intense about them, something she had not noticed before and in a way it unnerved her.

"That didn't seem long." She and her brother got out of her side of the car and he handed her their stuff before he locked up. It was only when she saw him put his car keys away and pull out another set of keys that it registered.

"Let's get you both inside then, shall we?" He noted merrily, unlocking the block's front door before leading them up to the next floor.

"Y-you are _joking_," she stated as Chris let them in to his flat. "You're _joking_, right?"

"No, Scout, I'm deadly serious." He closed the door behind them. "Your foster parents did not show up 'cause…_I'm_ your foster parent. I applied to adopt you both."

Her eyes went wide with surprise. "I'd _hoped_…well, I hadn't exactly _hoped_, but I really wanted us to have parents who would be just like _you_, Sir."

He felt himself blush modestly. "There'll be no more of the "Sir" formalities. I'm looking after you now." He knew that the prospect of them calling him "dad" was going to feel strange for some time, but after deciding not to dwell on it too much for the time being he took them to the room in which they occupied when they stayed over that time. "Get yourselves settled and have a think about what you wanna do for something to eat later, ok?"

Scout set about unpacking. She still couldn't believe it – things for her and Liam were just too perfect. The one person she wanted to have in their lives happened to be him! There had to be a catch somewhere but she couldn't detect one. "I think we'll be ok now, Liam." She placed a hand on his small shoulder and gave him a gentle, comforting squeeze. "Things will be much better from now on."

****

A few hours went by before Scout emerged from her and Liam's room. She was glad to see Chris had not left and was quietly sitting down. He looked deep in thought and she couldn't work out why.

"Are you both ok in there?" He wanted to know after seeing her approach him. She nodded slowly. "You must be hungry after being in there for so long. What do you feel like?"

"I-I don't wanna put you out for us," she weakly protested.

He sat up more upright. "Scout, you and Liam are with me now. You will _not_ put me out. Whatever you feel like I'll do it."

She peered down at the floor. "Something like a takeaway will be ok with us…" She started.

"Then that's decided." He looked to her steadily. "I'll need to go out to get it soon as I'm going out later on tonight."

"What for?" She came over more frightened. "You're leaving us on our own?"

"It'll only be for a few hours," he reassured her, "and I won't be going far – I'm meeting up with a mate for a drink and a talk."

She seemed doubtful. "As long as you promise to come back…"

"I promise you I will." He went over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "And I trust you enough to know that you'll behave yourselves whilst I'm gone." 


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N - Hi guys! Wow, I did not expect to get any reviews, favourites or follows! My gosh! All the more reason for me to continue! Thanks muchly - more to come, I promise!_

_J x_

"It'll be sad without you, mate," Tom noted as he and Chris were alone together after the others from the leaving party had left. "We won't be able to hang around as much as we used to."

"We'll still be able to hang out together," the younger replied playfully. "We have each others' numbers, right? And I'm not moving out of the city any time soon."

"So what have you got planned?" The older wanted to know. "Or is that something you haven't quite thought about yet?"

He wryly smirked. "You make it sound as though I haven't thought things through enough."

"I'm just worried about you, Chris." Tom placed a hand on his friend's broad shoulder, giving it a gentle yet friendly squeeze. "We've known each other for a long time and…"

"Tom…" Chris flitted his gaze away modestly before realising in a mixture of shock and concern that the older male had baulked from emotion. "Tom, I…don't well up, mate. You'll make _me_ cry."

He gave him another friendly squeeze. "Just…don't do anything stupid – and keep in touch."

"I won't disappear."

Tom softly smiled whilst trying to ignore the commotion going on behind them. He casually looked around for the usual influx of students. There were a few but not enough to create so much noise. His smile faded and he frowned in a mixture of consternation and discontent at the source of the noise.

"Typical Thursday night, I take it," he supposed as he failed to notice his friend's concerned expression.

"You might wanna find that out for yourself."

It was the younger's turn to frown and look in his friend's direction. His eyes widened at the realisation that his own father was in the bar; not only that but he was being incredibly loud and disorderly.  
He went over to him and tried to pull him away from the bar. "I think you've had enough now, dad," he pointed out as he tried to escort him to the door. The older turned around to see him.

"Son," he dazedly stated, putting an arm around him. "I saw you with your mates earlier but I didn't wanna interrupt your little party. Why don't we have a drink together? You and me."

"You've had too much." He tried to get him outside. "You should go home." He would've jumped a foot in the air when he threw his arms around him.

"So what was the occasion?" He dazedly wanted to know. "Let me guess. Birthday? Wedding? Ah, no. Couldn't be either of those. It had to have been a leaving party – maybe it just so happened to be _yours_."

"And so what if it was?" Chris pushed him off him. "Am I not entitled to have a leaving party when I leave? Is there something you have against me for wanting to leave a job I wasn't cut out for?"

"You're going to be sorry you left that place," he sombrely noted. "You'll now go out into the world with nothing. Didn't you even think about that? I don't think that even came into your head."

"How dare you." The younger grasped handfuls of his jacket and pushed him up against the side of the bar. "You know nothing about me."

"And behaviour like this," the older continued wryly, "again something that doesn't even come into your head. You _disappoint_ me, Chris."

On that note he agitatedly released him. "And _you_ disappoint _me_." He stormed out of the bar with Tom following him out. Stopping around the corner of the building he leaned against the wall, mentally drained from having to deal with him like that. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped a foot in the air before realising who it was. "Tom," he noted, relieved.

"Is everything ok, mate?" He wanted to know. "You kind of stormed out back there."

"I know…I know I did." He drew in a small sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you in there by yourself, but…I had to get out. He was getting to me."

"I know he did and I don't blame you for coming out here, but…does he have a habit of getting to you?"

"Only when he's like that," he matter-of-factly replied.

"Why was he here?"

Chris turned to face him, his big bright blue eyes glistening from within the distant sparkle of the streetlights. "I don't know, Tom," he admitted slowly. "I don't know why he was here tonight."

"You're a good person." The squeeze at his shoulder made him relax and come over all jelly-like. "A lot more than people give you credit for."

The younger moved his gaze to his friend's more deeply set eyes, his bright blue orbs wide and nervous. He felt his breath catch in his throat when Tom placed an index finger under his jaw and tilted his face up to look at him better. Their eyes connected and without realising it they had come closer to each other. "I don't mean to sound _prudish_, but…"

"Too prudish for a man hug?" The older replied playfully. "I didn't have _you_ down as a prude, Chris."

The shorter of the two nervously drew himself up against Tom, who wrapped his arms around him. He tensed up at the embrace and the unfamiliar feel of another guy's body against his but he relaxed when he felt one of the older's hands on his back and the other on the back of his head. He swallowed hard at feeling his fingers rake through his hair and the first thought that came into his mind was, _does Tom…like me?_ "Tom, I…I like you too, but…you and I…"

"What about you and I?"

"W-we're mates."

"You think that I…" When the younger nodded nervously he gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry, mate, I did find that rather funny."

"So why are we doing this?"

"'Cause I…" Tom pulled himself away to look at him better. "Well, I know the two of us are mates, very good ones – but I see you more than just a mate."

Chris's eyes came over a little darker. "You're making me nervous now."

"I see you as a _little brother_."

"I guess I should be flattered you say that." He gave a small, relieved sigh.

"So what do you feel like doing now?" The older wanted to know. "I don't know if you feel up to going back in there as your dad may not have left."

"Knowing him he probably hasn't," he bluntly replied. "That's ok. I can go home. It's getting late anyway." His response prompted a frown from Tom.

"You're going home?" He reiterated. "What is this, a curfew?"

He shook his head. "No, not exactly. It's just that I…have other things going on at home at the moment."

The stockier male smirked knowingly. "Oh, I see. Well, don't do anything _I_ wouldn't do."

When Chris got back to his place he was surprised to find the lights had been turned off. Only when he got to the room in which Scout and Liam were sleeping did he realise that they (or rather, just Liam) had stayed there. He frowned. What happened to her?

He then saw her emerge from the bathroom and noticed that a slight pallor had reached her skin. She was quite fair anyway so any other loss of colour was not good. "What happened?" He asked her carefully.

"I didn't feel very well."

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Were you sick?" She nodded. "Have you eaten?"

"Does it matter?"

"Sort of, when you didn't have a good enough diet to start with," he firmly retorted. "It's too late for you to eat now but I can get you some water if you still feel sick."

She staggered back to her room whilst he set about getting her some water. It was only when she was in under the bed's blankets did she think about explaining to him exactly why she was sick in the first place. Would he understand? She was sure that he wouldn't.

"Now this will help." He gave her the small glass of water, which she thankfully took. He raised an eyebrow in concern at the assumption she had been in bed the whole time he was gone. "So when did you start feeling sick?"

"It didn't start as soon as you left, if that was what you thought."

"I haven't thought _anything_," he perched next to her on the bed, "but if you've been sick for no reason other than the fact you haven't eaten then I've got a reason to be worried about you."

Scout drew in a small sigh and dropped her gaze from him to the blankets. Since he'd allowed her and her brother to shack up with him she had not kept anything from him so why break the precedent? "I don't want you to think it's nothing or that I'm going crazy."

"I know you've been through a lot – a lot more than a kid your age should – but I could never think you're going _crazy_." Chris placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "Scout, in the past I know that the way you behaved was 'cause of how your mum treated you. I understand. And I would understand if you still feel hassled by what went on. That's what trauma does to you. Was that why you were sick?"

"Sort of."

"You only have me to answer to now, no one else." He came closer to her, hoping that the closer he got the keener she felt about making any form of eye contact with him. "The feelings and thoughts that you have are tearing you apart. If you talk about them it might help them to go away."

"It isn't that I don't wanna talk to you about them, but…" She chose to look him in the eye that time. "You might think my reasons are _petty_."

"No, I wouldn't think that."

She could tell that he wasn't giving up or going anywhere until he got her to open up to him. She knew that she had an obligation to, especially if he had taken on the role as her father – not her proper one but ten times better than the real thing. "Mum has been texting me," she admitted sombrely.

Chris frowned. "I thought you changed your number to stop her from contacting you. Wasn't that what you and the services agreed?" She nodded slowly, knowing that he would not take the news well. "So you gave her your new number, am I right?"

"I had to." She could sense the concern in his voice and the grip on her shoulder tightened a little. "She called me when Liam and I were waiting for you to finish up that day. She sounded…frightened. Upset, I guess is another way of putting it, but she didn't sound with it at all."

"Scout," he started, "whatever went on with your mum that day had nothing to do with you. She's unstable and dare I say it, you probably made things better for her for agreeing to be re-homed. She has to find her own way, not do that with you."

"But I'm worried about her," she dimly pointed out.

"I understand that you're worried about her but she needs help and she can get herself that help if she set her mind to it. You've got to worry about yourself now, that's why you and Liam are here." He sat back a little, coming over a little firmer. "Your mobile, please."

She hesitantly handed it over to him and he deleted her mum's contact and went into the call log to delete her number on that, too.

"Living here with me is where things that happened between you and your mum do not matter. Being in another home gives you a chance to start over. Don't wreck that."

She nodded slowly.

"I don't wanna hear anything more about it," he went on. "Promise me that this doesn't get mentioned again."

"Ok, fine…I promise."

He didn't seem overly sure but he had to take her word for it. "Good. Do you feel any better now?"

"A little."

"But you still don't feel well enough to eat," he assumed. She shook her head. "Well, maybe you'll feel up to it tomorrow. Get some sleep for now. Ok?"


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Chris ran Liam and Scout to their schools. He waited for her to take her brother to the primary he was starting at before he dropped her off to Waterloo Road. "I know that it was hard for you to eat anything before we left," he admitted, "but your appetite will come back soon, I'm sure."

She looked to him sadly. "My stomach feels like it's in knots."

"You still feel guilty for what you let me do last night, don't you?" He turned round a bit more in the driver's seat to look to her. "I'm sorry for doing that, but if you wanna start over you're going to have to forget her. If she didn't treat you the way _I_ treat you now is forgetting her really that bad?"

"She _is_ my mum though," she replied before seeing him frown, "_was_."

"I know, and that's what is so hard to let go." He solemnly cast his gaze away from her. "I can't change that, Scout. I can't look at you in the eye and promise from now on that everything is going to be a walk in the park. It's not _like_ that. You have ties with her, both you and Liam do, but over time the connection you have or feel you have with her will go away. It doesn't happen overnight but it does eventually happen."

She moved her gaze to the floor of the car.

"If you don't feel comfortable staying with me I can go back to the services and have you moved again but what you're experiencing is simply a phase. It takes time to adapt to something like this."

"I do wanna stay with you," she piped up. "Both of us do. But it feels strange."

"It feels strange for me, too," he admitted. "It feels strange enough in the fact that you and Liam are not my kids, so it's a learning curve for me as well as you." He looked over at the time. "You'd better go in a few minutes if I'm to avoid the rush-hour traffic."

Scout nodded sadly. "We can talk more tonight though, can't we?"

"If that's what you want." Chris fished around in the side pocket of his jacket and handed her a five pound note. "_I_ want _you_ to use that," he firmly instructed. "Eat something, young lady. Promise me that you'll at least try."

Once she left the car and he saw her disappear down the path he sped off to get to his new place of work. It wasn't that far and he bypassed the rush-hour traffic _easily_ by using the motorway. He didn't know why he didn't think of working as a counselor _sooner_ but since when was there ever a right time to give it a shot?

XXXX

Chris did not have any slots to see anyone until mid-morning but he was unaware of the amount of time that had gone by as he was thinking over how best to deal with Scout's situation. They got on well – that he couldn't refute, but he had to water down the bond she had with her mum. After all, since when did _she_ do anything nice with her?

There came a knock at his door and one of the other counselors peered his head round. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he started.

"No, not at all." He quickly looked up to him. He raised an eyebrow at how agitated he seemed to be. "Is there something wrong?"

"There's a situation in the main reception area," he explained.

"What sort of situation?" He wanted to know.

"One of the clients we've just referred…she's going crazy and wants to see someone urgently."

"Send her to me."

"B-but…she may not be allocated to you. And wouldn't she be jumping the queue even if she _were_ one of yours?"

"Even so," Chris retorted, "she wants to be seen urgently and I can give her that option. So, again, send her through."

A few minutes passed before his room's door slowly opened and it was only when he realised who it was that he froze in his chair. "_You_," she icily started. "Why are _you_ here?"

"I could say the same about _you_, Mrs Allen." His voice came out a little hard yet he tried to express some form of concern. He signaled for her to sit down opposite him with the pen he was holding. "So you were responsible for causing the upset in the main reception area."

She shrugged. "Are you holding that against me?"

"Why did you do that exactly?" He looked to her carefully, preferring not to answer her direct question.

"I'm _upset_," she frostily replied, "even _more_ upset knowing that you're the one who's taken my _children _from me."

"But that's not the reason why you're here, is it? Something _else_ is going on, isn't there?" She cast her gaze away sharply.

"Is this how you're going to be with me throughout the whole time I'm sitting here with you," she wanted to know, "firing all manner of questions at me and making me feel like a _convict_?"

Chris was silent for a few seconds as he took in her appearance and stance. Yes, something else _was_ going on with her and it was clear to him that it was something she _did_ need help for. She was shaken, did not look as though she had slept that well and was sitting quite defensively. "Mrs A – Tina," he tried again in order to become a little bit more open-minded with her, "I know you're not here about your kids. If you were you would've known I was here and you would've tried all sorts to get me to hand them over to you. That isn't really your concern, is it Tina? It's something else."

"I-it's Barry," she shakily started.

"This is your husband?" He assumed.

"_Was_," she replied pointedly. She swallowed hard, sat back and tried again. "We divorced. He came to the flat last night, demanding to obtain custody of the kids. When I told him that they…weren't there anymore he went crazy. He threatened to hurt me if I didn't give him the address of where they were. I-I couldn't stop him…"

"Wait," he spoke cautiously, "are you saying that he _attacked_ you?" She closed her eyes and nodded. "I don't understand. Why didn't you report this to the police?"

"With _my_ record?" She icily stated. "What would _they_ have done if they realised it was me who called them?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel like you can, but what did he do to you?"

Tina pulled up the sleeve of her jacket to show him her arm, heavily wrapped in bandages, underneath.

"May I see?" He asked, coming over to her. She let him carefully unwind the multiple layers of bandages to reveal a severely painful and somewhat infected wound. He had to swallow hard at the state it was in. "This needs disinfecting," he explained, looking to her worriedly, "and it's something you should have gone to the hospital for."

"How _could_ I?" She agitatedly pointed out. "They would've refused me help the minute they got into my records."

"No, you're wrong. Records don't even come into it." Chris peeled the bloodied layers of dressing away so that he could disinfect the wound and re-dress it. "Everyone is entitled to medical help regardless of what they did. And as you did not seek that help this cut is now infected."

She felt so helpless whilst he set about applying some tissue soaked in tepid water around the wound's border. That removed the worst of it but it was better for her if it was _properly_ disinfected and covered up in new bandages.

"Where is your husband now?" He asked whilst he'd finished disinfecting the injury in amongst her wincing and squirming in pain.

"I don't know," she admitted apologetically.

"The most important thing is that I've disinfected that as best as I could. Another thing is that so far as you're aware he's well away from you. Does he have a key on him to get into the flat?" She shook her head.

"When he appeared that time I let him in." Tina quirked her mouth into a wry smirk. "Stupid or what?"

"In all fairness you didn't know what he had come for, so that doesn't make it your fault." He wound a newer, better bandage over the injury and tightened it enough to protect the skin whilst it healed. "As long as he left your flat and he's well away from the block there's no reason why you can't go back."

She gave him a dubious look. "So you can't help me in other words."

"Most of what had gone on is not something I can help _you_ with. I would need to talk to him as he's the one who has hurt _you_." Chris noticed she came over more anxious. "You don't seem happy with that idea."

"It's not that I don't want him to be a better person," she started, "but it's more the fact that if I suggest to him that he see you, he might…not like it."

"Sounds like he doesn't wanna change, himself," he assumed. "That's something I can't force anyone to do. But I think it's better for you, him, if not for the sake of Scout and Liam that he does."

XXXX

Once he had finished his first day Chris went straight back to his place to find that the kids had been back before him. "How did you find it?"

Scout looked to him carefully. "We got on ok." She frowned at how distracted he seemed to be, which was unlike him and it certainly unnerved her. "How was your first day at your new job?"

He didn't answer straightaway, preferring to peel his jacket off before heavily sitting down. "Well, it was _memorable_, I can safely say _that_."

"'Memorable'?"

He decided to say no more about her mother encountering him at his new place of work. After all he had treated Tina as he would a client and to tell _Scout_, despite them being related, would be breaking confidentiality.

"Why, what happened?"

"I can't tell you 'cause then it wouldn't be fair." He looked to her softly. "Where's Liam?"

"He's playing in the bedroom."

"So how did things with you go?" He wanted to know, sitting further forward to get a better look at her. "Did you use any of the money I gave you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"On something _healthy_, I hope," he assumed. She shook her head.

"Sorry, no." She regretted seeing a disapproving frown appear on his youthful features. "I just wanted something quick and cheap."

"I don't even wanna _know_ what it was you had." Chris drew in a small sigh. "You will never feel or look any better if you keep eating unhealthy stuff all the time. The school promotes healthy eating and you're not following it."

"Whatever you say, _doctor_."

"I _mean_ it, Scout." He sharply got up from where he was sitting. "I want you to start looking after yourself better. You'll never do that by doing what you do now and continuing that way."

"I've said I'm _sorry_," she retorted.

"I know, but saying sorry about this doesn't make it better. That's probably why you're so pale, underweight and feeling tired and sick all the time. If you're going to be my foster child that's something I wanna change."


End file.
